Shopfront makeovers win international award for Polish NGO
Traffic Design, an NGO from Gdynia that works to improve aesthetics in public space, has received a distinction in the prestigious Innovation By Design Awards 2018 organised by US design magazine Fast Company.
The distinction was given for the association’s project re:design, which updated the shop fronts of craft businesses in Warsaw’s North Praga district as part of the area’s revitalisation program.
The project updated the shops fronts of 10 local businesses with innovative, original and functional designs including a furniture repairer, a locksmith, an optician, a hairdresser and a watch repairer. The businesses are located on Ząbkowska, Stalowa, Wileńska and 11 Listopada streets.
The project updated the shops fronts of 10 local businesses with innovative, original and functional designs including a furniture repairer, a locksmith, an optician, a hairdresser and a watch repairer.
The distinction is worth boasting about because Fast Company is one of the most influential magazines devoted to technology, innovation and social change. Alongside the Gdynia-based design association, global brands such as Google, Microsoft, Airbnb, Adobe and IBM were also featured for their design work.
The Innovation By Design Awards showcases innovative projects from areas such as functional graphics, product design multimedia and fashion. The jury hands out awards and distinctions in 16 categories. Traffic Design received its distinction in the category ‘Graphic Design and Data Visualisation’. The shop fronts that were updated not only communicate each shop’s function but they also decorate and blend in with the architecture of the neighbourhood.
“We are delighted that we were singled out from over 2,800 projects entered into the competition from various parts of the world,” says Monika Domańska from Traffic Design. “We try to educate the local market in graphic design. Design, business and innovation should go hand in hand.”
A before and after picture of one of the shops involved in the project.
Traffic Design’s work in North Praga was part of the Na_prawa Warszawa project that aims to revitalise local authority retail and workshop premises in four districts on Warsaw’s right bank. The plan covers over 600 premises and the goal is to find the right tenant-mix that will rejuvenate neighbourhoods and also to improve conditions for existing businesses.
Traffic Design will continue to be part of the project, next time in South Praga around Warsaw East Station. It is also planning to redesign shop fronts in Poznań and Wrocław in separate projects.
